Skip to main content

Papers of Lillie Holliday

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS 1244

Overview

Lillie Holliday was the daughter of Cyrus K. Holliday, one of the founders of Topeka, Kansas and the first president of the Atchinson, Topeka & Sante Fe Railroad. This collection consists of some of Lillie Holliday's papers, including her diary, letters, photograph, and a memorial book.

Dates

  • Creation: 1876 - 1932

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Lillie Holliday

Lillie Holliday was the only daughter of Cyrus K. Holliday. Cyrus Holliday was born in 1826 in Pennsylvania to David and Mary (Kennedy) Holliday, and in 1854 he moved out to Kansas. While in Kansas, Holliday helped organize the city of Topeka, as well as founding the Atchinson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, of which he was director and president. Holliday married Mary Dillon Jones, and they had two children: Lillie and Charles King.

Lillie Holliday, born in 1855, married Thomas Jameson Kellam in 1877, who had been born in 1852 in Irasburg, Vermont. The couple had three children: Kurtz, Mary Louise, and Katherine. In January 1896, Kellam was involved in a railroad accident in Colorado, and he died the next month at home in Topeka from his injuries. Lillie Holliday died in December 1935.

Extent

.25 Linear Feet (1 document case + 1 volume) ; Volume is 13 cm tall.

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

The majority of this collection is comprised of letters that Lillie Holliday received from friends and family sending their condolences shortly after her husband Thomas's death. The collection also contains Thomas Kellam's memorial book, a photograph, and Lillie's diary. The printed date in the diary reads 1874, but Lillie changed most of the individual dates to 1876.

Physical Location

RH MS 1244

Physical Location

RH MS A42

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase, Mrs. Hudson's fine book and paper, 2009.

Related Materials

Cyrus K. Holliday papers, RH MS 1182, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.

Barnes, Lela, ed. Letters of Cyrus Kurtz Holliday, 1854-1859. [Topeka, Ks: Kansas State Historical Society, 1937]. Located at Spencer Research Library at RH C4917.

Treadway, William E. Cyrus K. Holliday, A Documentary Biography. Topeka, Ks: Kansas State Historical Society, 1979. Located at Spencer Research Library at RH C6585.

Cyrus Kurtz Holliday papers, Manuscripts Collection 386, State Archives, Kansas State Historical Society.

Title
Guide to the Lillie Holliday Collection
Subtitle
Papers of Lillie Holliday
Author
Finding aid prepared by caf, 2012; revised by mwh, 2017.
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in<language encodinganalog="language">English</language>
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/6587030763
Preferred citation
Lillie Holliday Collection, RH MS 1244, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334